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"She's probably got one more flight left in her"

With those words, Wayne Handley, one of aviation's most highly regarded and talented aerobatic pilots, handed over the keys donating the Raven to the Evergreen Aviation Museum. Handley officially ended his and his airplane's career in the air show industry after flying one last demonstration at the NWAA's (North West Antique Aircraft Club) fly-in at McMinnville, Oregon on Saturday.

Handley's airplane, the Oracle Raven, will continue in the public eye as a featured exhibit at the Evergreen Aviation Museum. Located in the wine country west of Portland, (Oregon) the museum is home to the famed Howard Hughes creation popularly known as the Spruce Goose and will be featured in an upcoming report on AAFO.COM.

While attending college, Wayne took both his first flight and his first flying lesson at the same time and has never looked back. 66 years young, Handley likes to joke that when he was a kid, his mother "used a spoon as the airplane and my mouth as the hangar and I've been flying to eat ever since", he has logged over 27,000 flight hours during his lifetime of flying.

Accumulating many of his flying hours as an instructor pilot in the US Navy and later as an agricultural pilot, Wayne caught the aerobatics bug in the 80's and eventually moved to aerobatic exhibition and instruction full-time. Handley, who was seriously injured during a performance in 1999 retired from performing at that time but continues in aviation with speaking engagements and aerobatic instruction. Many of today's aerobatic pilots have had, at least, some of their training with Wayne Handley.

Story and photos by: Wayne Sagar

For more information about Wayne Handley or to schedule flight training, visit http://www.waynehandley.com